During the manufacture of ophthalmic lenses, including contact lenses, such as hydrogel contact lenses and silicone hydrogel contact lenses, a polymerizable lens-forming composition containing reactive ingredients is polymerized to form polymerized lenses. The polymerized lenses can be washed to remove dust or debris from the manufacturing process, to remove un-crosslinked or partially crosslinked materials from the polymerized lenses, to hydrate the lenses, and combinations thereof, to produce washed polymerized lenses. Washing steps can include contacting the polymerized lenses with volatile alcohol or other organic solvent, contacting the polymerized lenses with aqueous liquids that may or may not contain a volatile alcohol or other organic solvents, solutes, or combinations thereof. The washed polymerized lenses ultimately are provided in packages, such as blister packages, which are subsequently sealed with sealing elements and sterilized. In some processes, the washing is performed in the package, and in other processes, the washing is performed with polymerized lenses located in washing trays or carriers. Additional steps may include inspecting the lenses for defects prior to sealing the package.
When polymerized lenses are washed in washing trays or lens carriers, the lenses must be separately transferred to the lens packages so that one lens is placed in one package. Although these steps can be performed manually, in a commercial manufacturing process, many steps are automated.